How many times have you heard that phrase? How many times have you used it? I can tell you that back when I was being told, “In my day I had to walk 10 miles to school, in a blizzard, with no shoes or shirt and I had to carry my six brothers over my shoulders while delivering newspapers along the way.” I swore I would never, ever do that.
I was wrong. (Please don’t ever tell He-Who I said that)
A few years back I had an opportunity to “speak out ” about something that really bothered me. What I found myself over and over again coming back to was how disappointed, disillusioned and just plain angry I was at young people and their behaviour. Apparently they are being referred to as Generation “Y”. Personally, I call them Generation “Entitled“. It may not be catchy or easy to remember, but their sense of “Entitlement” makes it the most legitimate moniker. Here’s how it went…
Generation Entitled enters the workforce with extremely high expectations. Of course, they were taught that life should be positive, creative, and challenging. They have been pampered, nurtured and programmed with a slew of activities since they were tots, meaning that they are not just high-performance but that they are also high maintenance. Their multi-tasking talents have resulted in an inability to concentrate for long periods of time on a single task. This is often carried into the workforce. Generation Entitled wants to learn as much as it can in a short period of time and then move onto something bigger and better.
They also believe in their self worth (often over inflated). They’ve grown up questioning their parents and now they’re questioning their employers. They do not know when to shut up or when enough is enough! “Respect” is something they take ownership of and not something they give. Today’s youngest workers are more interested in making their jobs accommodate their family and personal lives than the other way around. They place a higher value on self fulfillment. And they believe in their own value enough that they’re not shy about trying to change the companies they work for. They are surprised when they have to work for their money. They want the corner office right now!
This type of attitude contributes to them being viewed as a bunch of overconfident, inexperienced kids unwilling to pay their dues. Quite frankly, with the state of the employment market today I believe we have done them no favours. They are unprepared for the realities of today’s economy and cannot comprehend the negative environment they are now finding themselves in.
Personally, I am grateful I wasn’t raised this way. The difficulties I have encountered along my path have made me stronger, more resilient, and better prepared to face anything. I will always have an attitude of gratitude for whatever life throws me.
Ok, apparently I had some pretty strong feelings about this. Did it make me feel better to rant about it? If I am honest…maybe a little. However it wasn’t until this year that I really started feeling better about it. Not because anything had changed as far this particular age group. No. Not at all. What happened was I started paying a little more attention to some of the young people that are coming up behind them. The little ones. The unspoiled ones. There is hope, people. There is hope for all mankind because there are still some really special children living among us.
JANE has just celebrated her 10th birthday. She is as bright, energetic and lovely as her namesake, Jane Goodall. Last year Jane had the opportunity to meet the woman she was named for.
She was such a calm person. When she was on stage she didn’t have to yell at you really loud like some people on stage do. She was a really good story teller but she kept your attention by speaking softly. I got to give her a big hug and she seems so genuinely nice.”
A little over a year ago Jane asked if she could grow her hair out so she could donate it.
At school, my friend Lavina came in with her hair all cut off. When I asked her about it she told me she donated it to make wigs for kids who had cancer. We looked for a local program that did that and we found “Wigs For Kids“.
When all was said and done Jane was able to donate enough hair for two kids wigs. Sporting a new style and big grin from ear to ear, she was one very happy girl.
If this is any indication of things to come, it seems we have no worries about Our Jane living up to her name. Jane Goodall would be proud.
LIANA is 5, going to be 6 in September. Her Mom tells me …
She needed a good haircut and because one of her classmates from last year had donated her hair I asked her if she would like to do that – Liana got very excited about the idea of donating her hair to little children who were sick and didn’t have hair. At first she thought the hair would make them better, I explained that the hair would make them feel better about themselves while the medicine and doctors tried to make them feel better. She is very proud of herself and her haircut. We are proud of her too.
Liana donated her hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths… since she didn’t quite have long enough hair to donate for some of the wigs for kids type of organizations out there (she had 8 inches cut off).
Neither one of these girls knows each other, they actually live more than 200 k from each other.
SARAH is a writer. Her Father is someone I have come to admire through his writing. Known as The Hook of You’ve Been Hooked, his stories about his crazy misadventures as a Bellman in Niagara Falls always leave me laughing. Recently he shared a wish for his daughter in An Open Letter To Ellen DeGeneres. A must read in my opinion…
My 14-year-old daughter is an old soul, possessed of more compassion and wisdom than most of the adults I’ve ever met. She genuinely cares about the state of the world, especially the plight of children and animals. Sarah is the type of kid every parent wishes their child would be.
She is also a brilliant writer whose greatest wish is to see her series, The Misadventures of Misery, in print after years of scribbling in notebooks and typing away at her computer in her room.
- A young girl owns a bookstore in New York City.
- Her best friend is nicknamed Misery because of her perpetual bad luck.
- A visit to Misery’s hometown results in the revelation that her relatives are all supernatural beings.
- Soon the girl and her best friend realize everyone is different, therefore, everyone fits in.
- The adventures continue from there, with the possibilities being endless.
While other kids are tearing each other down on Facebook, Sarah is giving life to her characters.
While other kids are following feuding celebrities on Twitter, Sarah is placing her creations in unbelievably hilarious predicaments.
A touching tribute to a lovely girl.
ERIC recently graduated from grade eight. Eric is He-Who’s grandson so we were invited to share in the festivities. We were very proud of him. All the kids were amazing. Each one having worked hard to get to this point in their life. There were all kinds of special awards for all kinds of achievements given out.
After the ceremony the class had a celebration dinner and I sat and talked with Eric about all the kids in his class. I was especially impressed with how this class seemed so invested in each other. They were a team and they all helped each other reach their goals. He was able to point out each kid and share a bit of their back story with me. One girl had lost her mother to cancer that year. Another very frail looking young lady was very ill herself. There was a boy who had “run home” to quickly change from his suit to something more comfortable. His home was the local homeless shelter where he lives with his Mom. Eric himself is autistic which means, even though he is quite brilliant, he had to work more than twice as hard to be on that podium. As he chatted and continued to explain about all his classmates I looked in his eyes and realized how much hope there was. These kids…all of them…Jane, Liana, Sarah, Eric and his classmates, they are our hope. There is hope for all mankind because there are still some really special children living among us.
Just in case I haven’t convinced you to have faith in this new generation of kids. This video features some really insightful kids and their take on a recent racial “controversy”.
Michelle, love it. Great post. No other words needed from me. xo
Thank you, Lady Lovely. I appreciate it.
Wow, so much to comment on here. The last time I was at the hairdresser’s, a woman was having a severe cut – going from long to extremely short. Luckily, my hairdresser suggested “Locks of Love” for her and put it into a ponytail before snipping it off. For kids to do this is heartwarming. Wonderful post.
Good for your hairdresser for thinking ahead.
I agree. It really is heartwarming.
Thanks for stopping by, Renee.
What a great post! There is hope for the future indeed. 🙂
You would know. You have Adventure Boy, another great kid.
Yes, I’m raising him to be a leader! He already has a pack of kids who like to follow him around the place.
Beautiful!
I agree with your assessment of Generation Y, and it’s good to know that the generalization doesn’t quite hold up in the specifics.
Thank you, El Guapo. That assessment was not well received by the younger members of the group I was speaking to. It was the first time I remember the room being so divided when I spoke. Of course what I said did not apply to those in the room because they were actually out there doing the work to improve themselves. They were less offended when I pointed that out. 😉
Your ‘speak out’ on Generation Entitled, puts into words what a lot of us think, despite our generation being responsible for some of their conditioning. The kids on Youtube remind us that there are plenty of good ones to keep the world going in a good direction.
I couldn’t agree with you more, Bruce. We really are responsible for their conditioning. One can only wish that the the kids that we are counting on remain unspoiled by our influence. It seems like a lot to rest on such little shoulders.
What a terrific post, Michelle. I hope that the good in Generation Entitled bubbles back to the surface in the ways it does with the wonderful kids you showed.
And I loved the dialog about the Cheerios commercial! Great comments, all.
Thank you, Elyse.
Those kids in the Cheerios video were like the kids in the graduating class. They saw each other all the same even though they each had something they were overcoming. They were really inspiring and just filled me with hope watching them respond to each other.
That’s beautiful Michelle!
Sent from my iPhone
Thanks, Lynn, thank you for letting your little one be part of it.
Michelle,
It is a rare thing for me to be speechless, but your post has given me reason to pause and thank The Fates for blessing me with wonderful, insightful friends who are willing to go above and beyond.
You have a good heart and soul, my friend.
Yes the future is in good hands, but our generation is filled with heroes as well.
Thank you.
The Hook.
Thank you for inspiring me. As I read your post about Sarah I could picture her writing in her notebook. Passing on your talent for writing and encouraging her to express herself through it is quite the gift you have given her.
I’ve long thought that the racist’s days are numbered. Another generation and it will likely be looked upon as a strange dead-end in human history. As far as the attitude of entitlement, though, I worry that’s getting worse. Yes, there are many exceptions, including the amazing kids you wrote about in this post. But if they’re a small minority, as they seem to be, it’s going to take longer for that pendulum to swing back. We’ll see. Meanwhile, I think opening up the discussion, as you’ve done, can only help. Thanks, Michelle. I hope you’re having a great summer.
Charles, I hope you are right about the racist’s days being numbered but I hope you are wrong about the attitude of entitlement getting worse. In my head I know that those that behave that way may have been just as amazing as the kids I featured here when they were that age. Somewhere along the way “we” did something that made those sweet kids disappear and grow into these self absorbed beings of entitlement. My heart thinks we can do better with these new young ones and I hope we find it.
So true! I agree with Bruce’s comment and yours that we have created this issue. I can remember my son (who is now 25) when he was around 10 years old having a school project due and I ended up doing more than half of it… knowing that other parents were helping and not wanting him to receive a lower grade. We had good intentions.
Isn’t there a wise old saying about some nasty road being paved with good intentions?
You aren’t alone. Parents have been over “helping” that way with school projects for as long as I can remember. I think there was even a “Leave It To Beaver” episode that dealt with it. In black and white, no less. I believe the issue lies much deeper than that. Thanks for being part of the conversation, Sherry.
Great! Great! Great! Thank you for such a wonderful post!! 🙂
Thank you for reading it! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Our niece is letting her little four year old daughter grow her hair out so that it can be donated…it does give one a little comfort to see that the spirit of giving, kindness and love is blossoming still.
The next generation is primed to lead us. I can’t wait to see the results.
They do hold promise. It will be interesting to see.
Great post Michelle – and congratulations to Eric!
Thank you, Jim. I will pass that along to him.
These kids have smarts and the right attitude and will hopefully do much better than we have, both for themselves and for their world.
Michelle, that video made me teary eyed. It makes me wish those kids would never grow up. They’re wonderful. I hope they can keep their high spirits and continue to be positive and optimistic. They could teach a thing or two to many. You highlighted a handful of wonderful kids. I think there is hope, indeed.
I thought about the “wish they would never grow up” as well. I keep thinking that those other kids couldn’t have started out that way. Kids are pretty much innocence and clay to be moulded when they are born so some where along the line adults must have screwed the up. I hope my handful of kids stay as wonderful as they are.
The youngest ones give me hope. If they only keep going and go their own way and not listen/be influenced to the groups ahead of them. There have always been clumps of good, but not enough to outnumber the stinking spoiled ones of recent years.
Sadly it’s a cycle. Just when you think the human race has turned the corner, it seems there’s a revival of annoyance and ugly…luckily it’s 3 steps forward and only 2 steps back…maybe we’ll get there eventually
Nice post
Thank you.
You’re right about the cycle. I just hope you are right about the 3 steps forward and 2 back and that it isn’t the other way around. Sometimes it seems to be. For now eventually will have to do.
It is easy to see the negative side of a younger generation, especially when you have little contact with it. One of things that I noticed teaching, and even more so after I retired was how socially disconnected the young & the old can be.
Walking in the mall or the grocery store and you would see them clustering in groups in the middle of aisles. They were caught up in their social group oblivious to others who did not belong or making comments and gestures about those who did not belong. They cross the parking lot as if they had the right of way, if they had a car they drove the same way. Of course I am talking about the seniors and the teenagers. Their behaviour was identical. 😀
The seniors complained about the teenagers. They saw two types. The ones who were out of school for various reasons. The other ones were working and the seniors did not realize they were teens( over 16 and dressed for work you look like you are 18 or 20), The ones in school were not there to be seen. When the school held plays & concerts the seniors did not show up to see what the youth could do. So all the teens were out of school, lazy and unproductive.
As for the so called “Entitled”, we teachers were trying to prepare them and get them ready. Taught them and encouraged them to aim high. Education was the key. The more education you got the better you would do. It takes one person to handle a garbage truck now. They can not get that job without a High school diploma and some sort of certificate of training. Today, an average high school diploma is equivalent to graduating grade eight in terms of job prospects. As you said , the job market has changed. Big business wants highly skilled people who work till they drop and do not think for themselves, only the company. We need a revolution.
You may be right. A revolution may be in order. As an educator you would have more insight into the children of today and not so long ago. To me there has been a disconnect with the ones who have graduated in the past five years and reality. Perhaps it is the social disconnect you pointed out. Something changed and something has changed again as I see these new young people coming up that are more socially aware/conscious and shining a light on the future.
All of the kids you mentioned really made me happy to know that there is still hope. Go kids of the future!
They really are great kids. I hope they have some backup, though, they won’t have an easy time of it.
I am a completely spoiled brat. And I’m pretty sure I’m far too old to be a Generation Y-er. So… you know… I hope that helps. I do what I can, you know. 😉
Here’s the thing, Robert. Generation “entitled” would never admit they are spoiled brats. They would just feel entitled to it and not even consider it being spoiled. I suspect in your case it is women doing the spoiling 😉
Hmm… that does make me feel a bit better, I guess. Which (the more I think about it) I kind of feel entitled to, you know. 😉
Hahaha… well, I’d be a fool to complain about being spoiled, I guess.
Hmm… that does make me feel a bit better, I guess. Which (the more I think about it) I kind of feel entitled to, you know. 😉
Hahaha… well, I’d be a fool to complain about being spoiled, I guess.
It’s an interesting thought this, that everything was so much better before. I haven often taken myself with the same thoughts about the next generation as you, the lack of respect, the self esteem, how spoiled and self centred they are – and so. But in the end I don’t think the generations are getting worse. There will always be both caring and selfish people no matter what – and I think particularly around adolescence the worse features come out before we start to learn. Otherwise I agree with you, those kinds you present here, do represent a hope for the future – a hope that isn’t always easy to see. Great post.
I agree that there will always be both kinds. Perhaps I was just exposed to more of the negative kind of people from GenX and now it seems I am being exposed to more of the positive kind. No matter what I will always count on the ones that care less about themselves and more about others.
Very true. There are some very spoiled and downright annoying kids out there, but there are also still some incredibly wonderful ones too. Thanks for highlighting some of those who have bright futures ahead of them. I’d like to hope there are many more of those!
If you ever want to observe some of the worrisome kids in whom we trust our futures, just check out this blog: http://richkidsofinstagram.tumblr.com/.
I’m pretty sure your reaction to that blog and the completely shallow level of these kids will propel you to continue to invest in the truly amazing and thoughtful future generations out there!
Holy crap! That Rich Kids site is disgusting. Yeah, I will stick with the ones I wrote about.
Great Story ,Thanks for sharing 🙂
” In my day….”
Why is it that, as we grow older, we become increasingly susceptible to using this phrase to underline the gaps in generational thoughts? Does it give us some kind of power ot satisfaction?
Shakti
It really isn’t a phrase that I use at all. It was in quotations because I was quoting it from the many times I had heard it as a child. Knowing these wonderful young people and the hope of what is to come for them does give me a sense of power and satisfaction. Hope will do that.
This post gave me goosebumps. I recently ran into a very wise woman who predicted that my children’s generation (ages 13, 11 and 9) will be the healing generation…the ones who care more about others than themselves. I hope beyond hope that she’s right. Great read!
Oh, goosebumps, I don’t think I have done that before. I like your very wise woman. I’m with her on this one.